2025 MID-YEAR REPORT
In December 2024, Philanthropy Network released a transformation report summarizing the insights gathered through member interviews, strategy committee deliberations, surveys, and other reflective processes. That report articulated a renewed value proposition for the Network and presented a set of potential pathways for its revitalization. At that time, we anticipated a strong return to programming in early 2025—designed to align with the priorities voiced by members and informed by an evolving philanthropic landscape.
This mid-year report provides an account of activities undertaken during the first half of 2025, a period marked by both renewed engagement and escalating uncertainty across our region. It is intended not only as a summary of recent work, but also as a means of reconnecting that work to the themes and aspirations surfaced during the transformation process.
Importantly, this report is intended to draw focus to an ongoing and member-driven inquiry: how do the activities of the past six months reflect and respond to the needs in our region and the role funders play in them? And how might these initial efforts help shape the next phase of Philanthropy Network’s evolution?
FROM INTROSPECTION TO ACTION
In the December 2024 report, we identified a timely value proposition developed by the Strategy Committee to guide the Network’s next activities:
Collaboration, collective action, and shared learning are crucial for our philanthropic community to drive long-term, impactful change for all communities.
In that same report, we created a pyramid to illustrate how research, member insights, and feedback from other Network’s might guide our programming work moving forward:
OVERVIEW: JANUARY – JUNE 2025 BY THE NUMBERS
From January through June 2025, Philanthropy Network hosted 60 programs over 25 weeks—averaging approximately 2.4 programs per week, which included:
- 7 programs in collaboration with other organizations
- 7 public policy or advocacy programs
- 8 CEO/Executive Peer Group meetings
- 9 Meeting the Moment programs
- 14 Mission-Aligned Investing Collective sessions
This robust schedule included 11 in-person gatherings, notably the Annual Members Meeting on March 27, which brought together more than 110 member representatives for a day of governance, connection, and learning.
Over the course of these six months, more than 1,100 individuals participated in Philanthropy Network programs (including repeat registrants). Nearly 90% of participants were Network members, reflecting strong engagement from our core constituency. As the year progressed, an increasing number of programs also welcomed nonprofit leaders, peer organizations, and regional partners—as both presenters and attendees—broadening the Network’s reach and relevance.
The early months of 2025 were shaped by the arrival of a new federal administration and significant shifts in public policy and government funding sources. These changes reverberated throughout the social sector, directly influencing both the content and urgency of Philanthropy Network’s programming. Approximately 40% of our offerings focused on public policy and its implications—from navigating evolving federal priorities, to understanding policy threats and opportunities, to supporting nonprofits adapting to rapid change, to exploring innovative approaches such as non-traditional investments in the face of fiscal uncertainty.
These numbers not only reflect a period of renewed activity but also underscore the Network’s responsiveness to an evolving landscape—and our commitment to supporting members in real time as they respond to complex challenges and opportunities.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Philanthropy Network’s programming in the first half of 2025 reflected a commitment to serving as a resource, connector, and convener for the region’s philanthropic community. The following highlights align with the tiers of the engagement framework illustrated in the pyramid above, starting from the foundational role of the Network as a resource hub.
Philanthropy Network as a Resource and Partnership Hub.
The Network continued its longstanding Weekly Roundup newsletters, delivered most Mondays to over 900 members and constituents. These newsletters promote Network events and collaborations; share member announcements, publications, and perspectives; highlight thought leadership and sector news; promote regional events; and feature employment opportunities. During the first six months of 2025, 24 editions were distributed, averaging an open rate exceeding 50%.
In response to the dynamic policy environment, the Network compiled a 2025 Policy & Advocacy Resources page to help members stay informed. This evolving resource included member-shared communications, sector tools, and best practices to support engagement in the shifting federal landscape.
Partnerships also deepened across the regional and national philanthropic ecosystem. The Network collaborated with peer networks including Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, Council on Foundations, Exponent Philanthropy, Funders to End Homelessness, Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania, Independent Sector, Maryland Philanthropy Network, Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association, Philanthropy New York, and United Philanthropy Forum.
Local and cross-sector collaborations expanded as well, including work with the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Philadelphia Chapter (AFP-GPC), BucksMont Collaborative, Civic Capital/Generocity.org, ImpactPHL, Nonprofit Leaders Group, The Nonprofit Center at LaSalle University, Nonprofit Repositioning Fund, Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations (PANO), SeaChange Capital Partners, and Zenith Wealth Partners.
The Network also continued to support and amplify the work of the Coordinated Capacity Strengthening Initiative (CCSI), a collaborative effort by regional funders to advance a more cohesive approach to capacity building across the nonprofit sector.
In response to growing concerns about the federal policy environment, the Network partnered on the Navigating Federal Funding and Policy Challenges survey, initiated by the Nonprofit Leaders Group and Philadelphia Foundation. Thanks to the willingness of Newtork members and partners across the region, the survey generated more than 600 nonprofit responses and surfaced critical insights that informed local advocacy efforts and shaped a series of collaborative funding opportunities focused on urgent capacity-building needs. Key findings were shared with members in a variety of settings, and emerging funding opportunities to support sritical needs were communicated through six small-group sessions hosted in June 2025.
Consistent Opportunities for Connection
The Network reconvened the CEO/Executive Leadership Group in late 2024, launching a regular monthly meeting schedule for 2025. Held on the third Friday morning of each month (with multiple additional sessions added in March and June based on demand), these sessions offer space for peer exchange, sector insight, and candid dialogue on challenges and opportunities facing philanthropic leaders. A new addition in 2025 was the launch of a dedicated listserv for this group, enabling members to share resources, elevate timely issues, and continue collaboration between meetings. This pilot may serve as a model for additional member groups moving forward.
Geographic and topical communities of practice remained central to member engagement. Notable examples include the new BucksMont Funders Community of Practice which kicked off its new structure in January, met quarterly at locations across both counties, and culminated in a special gathering in June that brought together a panel including the public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sector to reflect on the results of the Navigating Federal Funding and Policy Challenges survey. Topical communities of practice included the Out Of School Time (OST) funders group and the Arts Funders group which met in the first half of 2025 and will continue to meet regularly.
The Network is focused on several communities of practice in development, notably the Corporate Funders group which met in April 2025 for an initial brainstorm focused on ideas for bringing corporate funders together in new ways and will result in a reimagined group that will begin meeting in the fall; a new Program Officers/Grant Managers community of practice that will launch in July 2025; and a Philanthropy Communications Staff group that will launch soon.
Recurrent Fundamentals Programming
Following the success of a five-session Philanthropy 101 course co-hosted with Maryland Philanthropy Network and other Philanthropy Serving Organizations (PSOs) in fall 2024, the Network reaffirmed its commitment to fundamentals-based education. Ten member professionals participated in that inaugural cohort.
Planning is now underway for a fall 2025 Philanthropy 101 series utilizing a refreshed curriculum developed by Philanthropy New York. Additional fundamentals programming in development includes a Philanthropy Fundamentals Refresher series for mid-career professionals, as well as a financial management series focused on topics such as assessing grantee financial health, equity in financial due diligence, and more.
Relevant Issue-based Programs
Throughout the first half of 2025 the Network explored a range of topic areas relevant to our region and the social sector, including but not limited to:
- National and regional nonprofit sector outlooks and discussions
- A four-part Legal Landscape series featuring Morgen Cheshire from Cheshire Law Group including:
- The 2025 legal landscape;
- Navigating risk in times of uncertainty;
- Understanding threats to tax exemption status; and
- The rules of policy advocacy for Philanthropy.
- Artificial Intelligence and Philanthropy
- Navigating Regional Immigration Policy Shifts
- Mergers, Acquisitions, and other collaborative models
- The state of support for the regional Trans community
- A funder briefing on Housing and Homelessness
- One funder’s journey to 100% mission alignment
Intensive/Specialized Cohorts
Coming off the conclusion of the second Mission-Aligned Investing (MAI) Cohort in 2024, the Network continued to bring together participants through the ongoing MAI Collective Program, an ongoing practice to support experienced practitioners in advancing their mission-aligned investing journeys together. Through the Collective, Executive Directors, foundation staff, and board members participate in programming aimed at stewarding more capital into the Philadelphia region equitably, sharing and advancing knowledge of mission-aligned investing, and developing shared resources to facilitate this work. The Collective met regularly as a full group, and also broke out into sub-groups that met regularly focused on partnerships, racial equity, and financial literacy. Through the program, Collective members were also able to set a limited number of one-on-one sessions with Ty Thiele from Andorra to address their specific organizational needs. The Network has begun to bring MAI-focused programs forward to all members through learning sessions and will convene an in-person partnership event in September 2025 to preview the impact data resulting from the two MAI Cohorts and the Collective’s activities to date.
New/Bold Initiatives
Insights from the 2024 organizational transformation process revealed strong member interest in expanding the Network’s engagement in public policy and advocacy—at the federal, state, and local levels. This interest proved timely, as the first half of 2025 brought significant policy activity and changes under the new federal administration. In response, Philanthropy Network undertook a range of initiatives to deepen its presence and influence in the public sphere.
Beyond the policy-related programs described earlier in this report, Interim Executive Director Michael Kellerman joined a regional delegation of funders at Foundations on the Hill in Washington, D.C. in February 2025. This annual event convenes hundreds of philanthropic leaders and networks from across the country to engage in advocacy discussions with policymakers and federal officials. The Network participated in meetings across the executive and legislative branches, including advocacy conversations with elected officials—conducted within the parameters of the Network’s legal and regulatory guidelines. A summary of this event was presented at the Network’s Annual Members Meeting in March.
In the spring, the Network partnered with Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association in meetings with staff from U.S. Senators John Fetterman and David McCormick to advocate in opposition to proposed federal legislation with adverse implications for philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. Similar outreach was conducted with staff from U.S. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick’s office, including participation from both Network leadership and member representatives.
Building on these efforts, the Network is exploring deeper and more consistent engagement with local government. In May, the Network participated in a dialogue with the Montgomery County Commissioners to explore alignment and collaboration opportunities between philanthropy and county leadership. Additional conversations are underway to formalize regular connections with local officials, spotlight local policy developments, and support cross-sector coordination through established and emergent forums.
CONCLUSION
As we reflect on the first half of 2025, Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia has entered a period of renewed purpose, strengthened connection, and strategic responsiveness. The volume and breadth of programming, the depth of partnerships, and the growing engagement of members and cross-sector peers all signal momentum—rooted in the values and aspirations voiced during the transformation process.
Yet this report is not a conclusion. It is an invitation: to assess, to contribute, and to help shape what comes next. The questions remain open and active—what kind of Network do we want to be, and what role must we play in a region facing persistent inequities, shifting policies, and urgent calls for collective action?
We thank our members and partners for their continued trust and involvement, and we look forward to the work ahead—together.